Hankee Alpha was sent to trainer Cindy Alderson with the intention of winning the ‘Grey’s Race’ on day three of the Melbourne Cup Carnival.
But such was the emphatic nature of the mare’s Australian debut win at Flemington that the goal posts have shifted.
The Group 3 Rising Fast Stakes (1200m) is now on the agenda for Hankee Alpha on Saturday with the possibility of some ‘Black Type’ for the daughter of Proisir.
It may have only been a benchmark 78 on a heavy track when Alderson produced the mare on October 3, but Hankee Alpha could not have been more impressive posting a six-length victory on the straight 1200m course.
“When she first came over, she came over for the ‘grey’s race’ (1400m), as she has got form over that trip in New Zealand,” Alderson said.
“I always had an inclination that she would be a good straight horse from a few things I saw about her in New Zealand.
“She was a little bit steady out of the barriers, and she didn’t muster speed all that quickly but was always building in her races to the line.
“That to me suggested she would set up as a good straight horse, which luckily, I was right about.
“It was only a benchmark 78, but she put them away pretty emphatically and had the race won a long way out.
“Whether it was a one off, or whether it was the wet track, but she’s given me every indication that she gone on.”
Alderson also had the Group 3 Asahi Super Dry Sprint (1100m) as a back-up option but preferred should Hankee Alpha not made the field.
Luckily for Alderson, the mare snuck in as number 20 in the capacity field and will be ridden by Craig Williams who was aboard in her Australian debut win.
She said the opportunity to again test Hankee Alpha down the straight was too good to bypass, even though it is on one of the biggest stages of the year, Victoria Derby Day.
“I said to the owners that you only get straight track racing in Victoria 13 times a year, and four are coming up this week, so we might as well give it a go,” Alderson said.
“It wouldn’t be impossible, if she didn’t live up to expectations, that she could go to the ‘grey’s race’ on the Thursday.”
Since her explosive victory, Hankee Alpha has been back to the jump-outs, registering a victory over 800m on October 19.
“She wasn’t as impressive as she was before her win, but it was only 800 metres and it’s kept her fitness up,” Alderson said.
